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Vegan Eggplant Parmigiana

This is based on a recipe from The FatFree Vegan Blog, but modified to be not quite so low fat. While we are health-conscious in this house, that usually means going for a bike ride or choosing wine over beer. Gotta have a vice, and mine is rich food. Serve this dish to anyone who thinks that vegan means bland and healthy.

(This dish does have only 2 tbsp of oil in it.)

I served this with a caesar salad featuring homemade croutons. Holy shit.

Salt the eggplant slices and put them in a colander to drain. The salt draws out the bitterness of the eggplant.

Prepare the tomato sauce in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the oil and the onions; saute the onions until they begin to soften. Add the garlic and saute for another minute, then add the sundried tomatoes, bay leaves, and tarragon. Stir together and let the spices toast for a couple of minutes. Make sure to stir regularly.
Mix the tomato paste into the broth until it’s smooth. Add that and the diced tomatoes to the saucepan, bring to a boil over medium-high heat, cover, and reduce to minimum to let it simmer.

For the cheese sauce, you will ideally use a blender or food processor. Combine all ingredients and blend until smooth. Blend again before using to ensure that the ingredients haven’t separated.
If you are cooking without the aid of these magical machines, mix the ingredients together by whisking in a saucepan over medium heat until combined. Remove from heat.

Set your oven to broil.

Rinse the eggplant slices and place them on a baking sheet. Spray or brush them with a light layer of olive oil and broil them for three minutes, until they start to brown. DON’T BURN THEM. This will ensure that they will be completely cooked inside of your casserole. Nobody likes undercooked eggplant; I think it’s the reason so many people think they don’t like this delicious nightshade.

Mix together the breadcrumbs and garlic powder.

Set your oven to bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a small non-metal baking dish.

Assemble the casserole by lining the bottom with half of your eggplant slices, overlapping. Sprinkle with 1/3 of the breadcrumbs. Spoon half of the tomato sauce evenly over top and pour half the cheese sauce on. Repeat: eggplant, breadcrumbs, tomato sauce, cheese sauce. Top with the rest of the breadcrumbs, some nutritional yeast, and some more faux cheese if you have it.

Bake for 16 minutes. Switch your oven to broil and brown the top – it should take about 2 – 3 minutes.